Viewpoints

Should children be tried as adults and sent to adult prisons? Our guests discuss so many people are incarcerated and how juveniles should be given another chance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many school-aged children in the U.S. end up in juvenile detention or expelled from school for offenses ranging from arriving late to breaking the dress code to fighting in the hallway. Once “pushed out” from school, these children are often headed down the road to a life of poverty and more serious crimes. A good portion of these kids are African-American girls who, our guest says, are unfairly targeted for discipline because of a misunderstanding of their behavior. We discuss this phenomenon and also talk to a professor who has studied the effect that extremely strict school rules have on the students and the teachers who are made to enforce them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaking in public can be a very anxiety-producing experience, but why? And how can we remove some of that anxiety and do a better job in front of an audience? Our guests discuss the fear of public speaking and offer advice on how to create, prepare for and deliver a speech with confidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is it that makes you buy one brand of vodka or soup or ketchup over another? Do you like the way it tastes? Is it a brand that you remember your favorite movie star using? Or is it something else? We talk to a brand expert who has researched the psychology of why we buy what we buy and find out that it’s not always a conscious decision, but one that is influenced by our brains, memories, and how we perceive ourselves using a product or service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When people head out on foreign vacations this summer, many of them take the tried and true path: visit the big monuments, tourist attractions and stay with their tour groups. Our guest has spent many years of his life traveling the world and he suggests that for a better and more memorable trip, you should rub shoulders with the locals in the country you’re visiting. We’ll hear his thoughts on why it’s important to learn about the culture of the country you’re visiting, how freedom is interpreted in other countries and how you can help the people you meet better understand America and you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In America, we have the most varied cuisine in the world with thousands of foods available in grocery stores and menus in restaurants from every corner of the globe. Why do we need all of this variety? And why are meat and barbecue so high up on our list of favorite foods? Our guests offer some answers to these questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many ecologists, farmers and members of the public are worried that non-native plants and animals are invading the U.S. and preventing native species from thriving. Much money and time is spent trying to rid the land of these aliens – often to no avail. But are these species present because they’re the only ones that can thrive in an area? Are they multiplying because of something bad we’re injecting into their environment? Are these aliens actually helping nature create a diverse and robust environment? And are those so-called native species of plants and animals really native? Our guests have some surprising answers to those questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone hates clutter, but so many of us just can’t seem to get it out of our lives. Our guests discuss how we end up with full closets and basements, how to start weeding out the good stuff from the junk and how adopting a minimalist lifestyle not only keeps our homes neat, it also helps to de-clutter our thinking and maintain focus on those things that are most important to us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two former Navy Seals talk about the march they created to honor those who served and raise money to help vets, their families and first responders around the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology has been moving at break-neck speed during the past 30 years, with the invention and adoption of the personal computer and the internet in the first wave, and more sophisticated hardware, software, cell phones and apps in the second wave. Our guest, an internet pioneer himself, discusses the third wave of technology that will take all of these innovations one step further – integrating them into our world in ways that will bring them more fully into our educational systems, healthcare, work and our every day lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no secret: American students are way down the international list when it comes to math scores. Why is this? What makes math so hard for U.S. kids to learn, and how can we help make math easier? Our two guests have answers to both of those questions along with some innovative ideas on how to help kids – and adults – become better at math. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a journalist to find out just how extensive the legalized marijuana industry is now, and how it could grow in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Lori Sackler talks about why we are reluctant to discuss money matters with aging parents, spouses or children and why it is so important that we do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest discusses the strength, political savvy and resilience of America’s only foreign-born First Lady, Louisa Adams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to two political specialists about how to encourage America’s youth to vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices